In a unanimous vote, the City Council of Astoria, Oregon, passed a strongly worded resolution that opposes the Tesoro Savage oil-by-rail terminal, proposed upriver of Astoria in Vancouver, Washington, and other potential oil-by-rail projects on the Columbia River. Washington decision-makers including Washington’s Energy Council, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and Port of Vancouver Commissioners have final authority over the controversial proposal to site the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal along the Columbia River. The City of Astoria’s resolution notes that, “outstanding deficiencies present unacceptable risk levels for spills of crude oil entering the Columbia River and causing significant damage to the ecosystem.”

The city’s resolution marks the first time a municipality downriver of the proposed Tesoro Savage terminal weighed in against the project. The city joins upriver towns, cities, and counties along oil train routes that have passed resolutions opposing or raising concerns about oil-by-rail. Oil tankers bound for oil refineries on the West Coast or overseas markets would carry oil from Vancouver down the Columbia River—passing the community of Astoria—to the Pacific Ocean.

Columbia Riverkeeper salutes the amazing community activists from the Columbia River Estuary Action Team (CREATe) who drafted the initial resolution and spearheaded this effort. CREATe activists were instrumental in making the resolution happen. These and many other residents of the Columbia River Estuary packed the hearing room and provided compelling testimony on the significant threat of oil-by-rail to the Columbia River communities and the Columbia’s iconic salmon.

In May 2017, Hanford made national news when a tunnel containing highly radioactive waste partially collapsed, triggering a shelter-in-place order for nearby workers and prompting widespread concerns about Hanford’s aging nuclear infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy (Energy) filled the tunnel with grout, a form of cement. Now, Energy seeks to fill a second, larger tunnel with grout. if left in place, the pollution in the tunnels—known as the PUREX tunnels—could pose long-term risks to soils, groundwater, and the Columbia River.

PGE wants to increase smog-forming pollution at its Carty Generating Station, a 450 MW fracked gas-fired power plant. The plant began operating in 2016. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) new draft air pollution permit would allow the Carty Generating Station to emit 800% more volatile organic compounds, a key component of low-level ozone (smog) formation. Join Riverkeeper urging DEQ to hold PGE to its current pollution limits, and not to open the door to more pollution from PGE’s new fracked gas power plant. ACT NOW!